Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Arab Americans

Coroner seeks public’s help in identifying man who jumped off 5 Freeway overpass

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Arab Americans, Orange County, Public Safety Leave a comment

5 Fwy suicide victim

NEWS, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Lt. Jeff Hallock, 714.904.7042
JHallock@ocsd.org

Emily Osterberg, 714.647.1840
EOsterberg@ocsd.org

Coroner Investigators Seeking Public’s Assistance Identifying Descendent

SANTA ANA, Calif. – (July 24, 2014) – The Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Coroner Division is seeking the public’s assistance identifying and locating family of an unidentified male decedent. On Tuesday, July 1, 2014, coroner investigators began conducting a death investigation following the decedent jumping from the Beach Boulevard overpass onto the southbound Interstate 5 freeway.

The unidentified male appears to be of Middle Eastern or Hispanic descent, approximately 50-65 years old. He is 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 183 pounds, gray-brown hair, brown eyes and a short, gray goatee. He had poor oral hygiene with two front canine teeth and recessed gums. Continue reading→

Sikh children report harassment to OC Human Relations Commission

Posted on by Posted in Arab Americans, Civil Rights, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 6, 2011

For More Information:

  • Rusty Kennedy, CEO 714-567-7465
  • Commissioner Carol Turpen 714-290-3165
  • Commissioner Nadia Saad Bettendorf 562-691-3428
  • Board Member Gurpreet Singh Ahuja 714-478-4008

Sikh Children Report Harassment to OC Human Relations Commission Continue reading→

Free international arts festival at the Bowers Museum on June 23

Posted on by Posted in Arab Americans, Arts and Culture, Asians, Entertainment, Health and Medical, Latinos, Santa Ana Leave a comment

International Arts Festival at the Bowers Museum, June 23- 6:00 pm FREE!  The event is completely FREE for the community!

The Bowers will have an International ART EXHIBIT and music and dance performances by a variety of artists from various ethnic communities. A total of 150 art pieces will be exhibited at the Bowers Museum.

MECCA presents “Drawing Out Sigma,” on June 23, at 6 pm.

Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA) is a non-profit umbrella organization of local ethnic community-based service providers targeting the Arab, Iranian, Korean, Latino, and Vietnamese communities. MECCA’s focus is to reduce ethnic disproportionality and disparity in human development and health.

There is still room for 8 LATINO VISUAL ARTISTS to exhibit their art that evening. If you know of anyone that might be interested in exhibiting their ART, please tell them to contact us immediately at (714) 296 – 2191.

Orange County anti-war planning meeting on Tuesday night

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Arab Americans, Entertainment, Orange County, Politics Leave a comment

The Orange County Peace Coalition is having an Anti-War planning meeting on Tuesday, April 26 · 7:00pm – 9:30pm, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Anaheim, located at 511 South Harbor Boulevard.

Nadia Hassan, the courageous Muslim woman who speaks so eloquently at Villa Park City Council meetings in response to Councilwoman Pauly’s hate speech, was supposed to address the issues concerning the wave of hate speech in Orange County, however she will not be able to attend so the planning and event announcement portion of the meeting will be longer.

Lite refreshments will be available.

DPOC condemns Villa Park Councilwoman Pauly’s anti-Muslim comments

Posted on by Posted in Arab Americans, Democratic Party, immigration, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Statement Condemning Comments Made by Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly

The Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) strongly condemns the venomous words and threats spoken on 2/13/11 by Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly, at a rally protesting an ICNA relief event in Yorba Linda. Ms. Pauly also serves as the First Vice President of the Orange County Republican Party.

Councilwoman Pauly characterized the event and those who attended (some with small children) as “sheer, unadulterated evil.” She further threatened the attendees by stating that her US Marine Corps son and other Marines would be willing to “help those terrorists to an early meeting in Paradise.”

The foundation of our democracy lies in the people’s freedom of speech and certainly Ms. Pauly’s reprehensible remarks are included in those rights.

However, the Constitution also provides the right of people to peacefully assemble without threat or intimidation by the government. The Constitution also provides the right of people to exercise their religion without interference by the government by threat or intimidation.

Ms. Pauly was allowed to speak at the rally only because of her official position as an elected councilwoman and as an officer of the Republican Party. So her comments were more than rhetoric by a mere person who chose to inflame and to incite.

As an elected official, Councilwoman Deborah Pauley acted under the color of State law to threaten and intimidate citizens who have constitutional rights, privileges and immunities of assembly and religion. Her actions constitute a misuse of authority and maybe a violation of both federal and state law.

The Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) calls upon Councilwoman Pauly to apologize and to retract her threats and for the Orange County Republican Party to publicly state that it does not support anyone who makes such threats.

Please note that the Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) is preparing a complaint to be filed with the Federal Bureau of Investigations regarding Councilwoman Pauly’s violation of the attendees constitutional rights under the color of law/authority.

——————————————————————————————————————–
About Democratic Party of Orange County

Representing over 517, 000 registered Democrats, the Democratic Party is the fastest growing political party in Orange County. We have a proud history of representing and protecting the interests of all Americans.

We believe in:

A healthy economy that creates jobs and promotes a shared success between employers and employees.
A strong, respected America that protects our security when it is threatened, but also emphasizes diplomacy and Democratic values; the foundations of a more peaceful and prosperous world.
Fundamental rights for all Americans, such as: quality healthcare, a world-class education and a clean environment.
Being progressive and adaptive to the challenges of a changing environment, economy and society.

When and Where We Meet:

The Democratic Party of Orange County meets twice a month:
Second Monday of each month: Executive Committee Meeting is held at the DPOC Office, 201 N. Main Street, Mezzanine Level, Santa Ana at 7 pm.
Fourth Monday of each month: Central Committee Meeting is held at the Carpenter’s Union Hall, 1916 N. Chapman Avenue, Orange at 7 pm.

How to Reach Us:

DPOC: gerrieschipske@ocdemocrats.org
Web: www.ocdemocrats.org
Phone: 714 835-5158
Fax: 714 835-3685

O.C. Human Relations Commission responds to anti-Muslim protest

Posted on by Posted in Arab Americans, Civil Rights, Orange County, Republican Party, Santa Ana 2 Comments

For Immediate Release

For More Information: C. William Wood, Chair, 949-338-3713, Rusty Kennedy, Executive Director 714-567-7465

OC Human Relations Commission Calls for a Return to Civility in Reaction to Muslim Charity Speakers and Protests

The Orange County Human Relations Commission was created in 1971 to promote mutual understanding among Orange County residents and eliminate the causes of prejudice, intolerance and discrimination.

On March 10, 2011 at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission the speakers and protests at a Muslim charity event held on February 13 at the Yorba Linda Community Center were discussed and the Commission voted to issue a statement.

The Orange County Human Relations Commission:

1. Sends our empathy and support to the Muslim children who attended this event with their families, and were subjected to hateful and bigoted insults. The Commission feels that there is no reason to insult each other when differences of opinion occur, and compounding the inappropriateness of those bigoted and hateful insults by directing them at children is inexcusable.

2. Commends the City of Yorba Linda and their police department for the way they handled these contentious events, protecting the rights of all parties, and creating a safe environment for these highly emotional conflicts to play out peacefully.

3. Commends one of the leaders of the rally who apologized publicly for the atrocious behavior of the hecklers, even though she was not associated with them and did not know them. This gracious apology acknowledges that what these families and children were subjected to by the hecklers, was wrong.

4. Calls on the passionate hecklers who deliver their opinions with such raw emotion, to take a deep breath and look at themselves and their behaviors and recognize that their inappropriate actions hurt their own cause. A more civil debate is a more constructive avenue to promote a perspective in a democratic society.

5. Calls on leaders who speak to large groups and have many people who listen to their words, to tamp down the generalizations that vilify whole groups of people based on the actions of a few. Step back from their colorful, emotionally laden language so that fringe elements of our community don’t feel emboldened to act out their bigotry with hate crimes.

6. Calls on organizations and groups to shun speakers whose hateful rhetoric and violent innuendo polarizes people, scapegoats whole groups for the actions of a few, and incites bigotry and violence.

7. Calls on perpetrators of hate crime to stop their threats against leaders and crimes against individuals.

8. Calls on all Orange County residents, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Sikh, White, Latino, Black, Asian, Gay, Straight, Disabled, men, women, children, young and old, to come together to condemn these acts of bigotry.

Orange County Human Relations Commission
1300 S. Grand, Bldg B, Santa Ana, CA 92705
714.567.7470 www.ochumanrelations.org

Commissioners:

Bill Wood Chair
Ken Inouye Vice Chair
Ellen Ahn
Nadia Bettendorf
Becky Esparza
Chief Dave Maggard
Ki Hong Park
Amy Peikoff
Carol Turpen
Vincent De Vargas
Doug Wooley

Video by Santa Ana’s George Collins captures anti-Muslim Republicans in action

Posted on by Posted in Arab Americans, Churches and Religion, Civil Rights, Hate, immigration, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party 9 Comments

When George Collins, a past candidate for Santa Ana Mayor, showed up at a Republican Party of Orange County event in Yorba Linda, his aim was to film the comments made by the speakers, and then put them up on his YouTube page.  He surely had no idea what was going to happen after he put up the video, which shows Villa Park Council Member Deborah Pauly making very harsh statements about Orange County’s Muslim community.

What set Pauly off was the actions of the Muslim Student Union at the University of California at Irvine (UCI).  Eleven Muslim students were arrested during Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s speech on campus in February. Those 11 students stood up one at a time and yelled during Oren’s presentation and were subsequently detained, according to the O.C. Register.

Here is a video of the Muslim students’ protest:

Who is this guy Michael Oren?

Here are excerpts from his bio.:

Michael B. Oren is the State of Israel’s Ambassador to the United States.

A graduate of Princeton and Columbia, Dr. Oren has received fellowships from the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, and from the British and Canadian governments. Formerly, he was the Lady Davis Fellow of Hebrew University, a Moshe Dayan Fellow at Tel-Aviv University, and the Distinguished Fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown.

Ambassador Oren has written extensively for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The New Republic, where he was a contributing editor. His two most recent books, Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East and Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present, were both New York Times bestsellers. They won the Los Angeles Times’ History Book of the Year prize, a National Council of the Humanities Award, and the National Jewish Book Award.

Raised in New Jersey, where he was an activist in Zionist youth movements and a gold medal winning athlete in the Maccabia Games, Ambassador Oren moved to Israel in the 1970s. He served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces, in the paratroopers in the Lebanon War, a liaison with the U.S. Sixth Fleet during the Gulf War, and an IDF spokesman during the Second Lebanon War and the Gaza operation in January 2009. He acted as an Israeli Emissary to Jewish refuseniks in the Soviet Union, as an advisor to Israel’s delegation to the United Nations, and as the government’s director of Inter-Religious Affairs. He has testified before Congress and briefed the White House on Middle Eastern affairs.

Interesting.  This guy Oren is no common diplomat.  He has a lot of Arab blood on his hands.  Now you could argue how that came to be, but the fact is I can understand why Muslim students might not be happy to welcome this man to their campus.

These Muslim students aren’t monsters, I don’t think.  They are brave individuals who risked everything for what they thought waas right.

But Pauly thinks they are “unwelcome invaders.”  Click here to see the video of her disturbing comments.  I would normally embed the video here, but Collins disabled that feature on his YouTube page.  He was upset because a Muslim organization used excerpts of his video in their own YouTube video, which was taken down when Collins claimed he had a copyright to the original video.

Collins, like Pauly, is a Republican.  She is also a member of the OC GOP’s Executive Committee.

Emergency protests for Libya’s people, on Friday & Saturday, in Anaheim

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Arab Americans, Civil Rights, Entertainment, Politics 1 Comment

DATES AND TIME: FEB. 25 AND 26. 2011 @ 2:00PM-6:00PM.

Location: 512 South Brookhurst St. Anaheim, CA 92804–LITTLE ARABIA.

The Arab World Newspaper invites you to show your support for the Lybian people who are facing the tyranny of the Lybian dictator Muammar Al-Gaddafi!

In Libya more than 800 have been shot dead in the protests against Gaddafi’s 42 years dictatorial regime. They have been using live ammunition, machine gus and last night security forces started using anti aircraft guns. Also, Jet fighters are flying all over Libya and tanks are moving down every street! they even brought snipers and foreign mercenaries to hurt people! internet is down & no foreign media allowed in. It’s a GENOCIDE!

Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

Latino Arab American Advisory Committee civil rights training, on Feb. 19

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Latino Arab American Advisory Committee Civil Rights Training

February 19, 2011
9:00a.m. – 12:30p.m.

UCI-Social Sciences Plaza B Room: SSPB 1208
3151 Social Science Plaza, Irvine, CA 92617

Parking: http://www.uci.edu/campus_maps.php

Moderator:

  • Ray Cordova, South County Labor Chair

Introduction:

  • Rima Nashashibi and Benny Diaz, Co-Chairs, Latino Arab American Advisory Committee

Featuring:

  • Richard Sambrano, Civil Rights Co-Chair, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Retired Prosecutor
  • Sergeant Mike Abdeen, Los Angeles County Sherriff, Muslim Community Affairs

Closing:

  • Thomas Gonzales, California LULAC Civil Rights Chair, LAAAC Member

More information:

Benny Diaz, CA LULAC State Director, bennydiaz@sbcglobal.net, (714) 357-4328

Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

Orange County’s Egypt supporters celebrate in Anaheim

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Arab Americans, Civil Rights, Politics, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Santa Ana resident Naui Tetl was all set to lead a rally against Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, on Saturday, but then Mubarak stepped down, after 30 years in power.  But Naui went  forward with the rally – which was now a celebration for the people of Egypt.

You can see the results in the video above.  Anaheim has had an Arab population for some time – but now they have come together – too late to help Bill Dalati, who ran for the Anaheim City Council last year, but just in time to celebrate the new freedom in Egypt.

Dalati was there on Saturday.  So was Orange Juice blog editor Vern Nelson.  And a lot of other folks.  Click here to see more pictures.

The big debate now is whether the Muslim Brotherhood will take over Egypt when they hold elections in about six months.  If they do, so be it.  That is democracy.  It isn’t always pretty.  But if that is what the Egyptians want, who are we to deny them that?

Celebration for Egypt rally this Saturday, Feb. 12, in Anaheim

Posted on by Posted in African Americans, Anaheim, Arab Americans, Civil Rights, Entertainment, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment


Bring your flags , signs and chant freedom for Egypt , dictator Hosni Mubarack must go, No to Omar Suleiman ! !

Join the celebration for Egypt rally, this Saturday, Feb. 12, from 12 pm to 4:00 pm.  Bring your flags , signs and chant freedom for Egypt, dictator Hosni Mubarack must go, and no to Omar Suleiman!

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AND PASS THE WORD!

Reply “Attending” if you are coming bring friends and family .

This will be a peaceful demonstration.

Location: Little Arabia , Brookhurst and Orange in Anaheim, at 512 S. Brookhurst St.

Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

This rally is being organized in part by Santa Ana resident Naui Tetl, aka Naui Huitzilopochtli.

Solidarity with the people of Egypt rally, on Friday, Feb. 4

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Show your solidarity with the people of Egypt, this Friday, February 4, from 3:00 pm – 6:30 pm, at Little Arabia , Brookhurst and Orange in Anaheim, at 512 S. Brookhurst St.

Bring your flags , signs and chant freedom for Egypt – dictator Hosni Mubarack must go !

Click here to RSVP if you are virtually marching with Egypt.

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AND PASS THIS TO THE WORLD!!!!

Dream Act press conference in Anaheim on Nov. 30

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Arab Americans, Churches and Religion, Civil Rights, Education, Entertainment, immigration, Latinos, mexico, Santa Ana, Working Families, Youth Activities 1 Comment

Orange County DREAM Team’s Banner Holding for the DREAM Act in Santa Ana, CA. 11/28/2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 24, 2010

Contact: Aura Vasquez, 714-931-6045, aura@occcopico.org or Vanessa Martinez, 714-767-9860, vanessa.clue@gmail.com

Top Faith and Community Leaders “March for the DREAM” with Orange County Congregations, Families, and Students

Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO), in partnership with the Orange County DREAM Team (OCDT) and Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE OC), will hold a “March for the DREAM” in support of the DREAM Act, providing a pathway for citizenship and higher education to college bound immigrants and those serving in the US Military. OCCCO, CLUE, OCDT, and their partners urge Senators to show moral leadership and vision when voting for the DREAM Act.

WHO:

  • Bishop, Dominic Luong, Diocese of Orange
  • Dr. Jose Moreno, School Board President of Anaheim School District
  • DREAM ACT Student Testimonies
  • Community organizations including Los Amigos of Orange County and the League of Women Voters
  • Anaheim Union High School District
  • Other clergy and top religious leaders from Orange County
  • Chaired by: OCCCO Leaders Jan Meslin from Tapestry Unitarian Universalist Congregation and Annan Aboul-Nasr from the Islamic Institute of Orange County

WHAT: “March for the DREAM” – Families, youth, and clergy from Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Unitarian congregations throughout Orange County will gather together for a march from St. Boniface to Anaheim High School to hold a press conference in support of our immigrant youth. As communities of faith, the march to the school symbolizes putting our faith into action to stand in solidarity with students and urge Senators to support the DREAM ACT.

WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010 – 2:30 pm to 3:15 pm, press conference starts at 2:45 at Anaheim High School.  Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

WHERE: Starts: St. Boniface Catholic Church, 120 N. Janss Street, Anaheim, CA 92805
Ends: Anaheim High School, 811 West Lincoln Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92805

VISUALS: Clergy, students, families marching and standing together, with signs saying “ready to serve”, “we want the American DREAM”, and “I want to be a teacher, lawyer, nurse, doctor, etc.”

MORE INFORMATION

Thousands of hard working young people who were brought to the United States as infants or children can now be locked up in federal detention centers and deported to a country they’ve never known. The DREAM Act could stop the injustice by giving students who have grown up and graduated high school in the United States the opportunity to earn legal status college or military service. For almost 10 years immigrant youth have been fighting for the passage of the DREAM Act. As people of faith, we support the DREAM Act because we believe in protecting the dignity of every human being, especially that of our children.

BACKGROUND ON PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO) is an interfaith network of 22 member congregations and civic groups representing 50,000 families in eight cities throughout Orange County. OCCCO was established in 1985 and is a current member federation of the PICO National Network – the largest faith-based organizing network in the nation, representing more than 1 million families across the United States.

Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice of Orange County (CLUE OC) provides spiritual leadership in the movement to achieve economic justice in Orange County. We seek to achieve a California with a moral economy where workers will have just wages and safe working conditions. We also seek the removal of barriers that hinder full participation of low wage workers and immigrant families in society and the workplace, including the reform of our immigration system. CLUE Orange County is one of 13 affiliates of the statewide network CLUE California

The Orange County DREAM Team (OCDT) is an organization composed of students, allies and community members, who advocate for the rights of undocumented students of all nationalities and is also dedicated to the passage of the DREAM Act.

2010 U.S. Census bus tour coming to Anaheim’s Little Arabia on Feb. 4

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Arab Americans, Civic Affairs, Federal Government Leave a comment

Yalla Count

The 2010 Census Bus Tour is coming to Anaheim’s “Little Arabia” this week, on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m., at the Victory Restaurant and Bakery, located at 630 S. Brookhurst St.  All are invited!

The purpose of the bus tour is to encourage community members to fill their 2010 Census forms, but in this case you will also be able to help yourself to 99 cent Falafels and Shawerna sandwiches.  Delicious! Continue reading→